Farolitos, Sierra County, New Mexico

It’s hard to come up with a new visual take on the peace and joy of this holiday season. This photographer has succeeded. This image of a traditional New Mexican Christmas decoration that is said to have originated with Spanish settlers, who lit small bonfires along roads and at churches to celebrate the birth of Christ, is as fresh as it is striking.

In other hands, an image of farolitos shining brightly in the night would be a cliché. Here the pitch-black house, lace-like branches of trees and luminous night sky are the perfect monochromatic foil for the glowing paper lanterns.

What makes this photograph even more memorable is the photographer’s choice of perspective. The focus on the undulations of the parapets turns what could have been a prosaic line of farolitos into a graphic red-orange zig-zag that remains emblazoned in the mind’s eye.

—Commentary by Tom Hinson, editor, Photograph of the Week

Editor’s Note: Click on the photograph to view it in a light box for even greater clarity.

Professional, amateur and phone-camera photographers alike are invited to submit images to the Sierra County Sun for possible publication in the Sun’s “Photograph of the Week” feature. The deadline for consideration is every Friday at 5 p.m. For further information, click on the Help Us Report button on our home page and then check the box labeled “I want to submit a photo to Photograph of the Week.”